An Iowa employment agency says a national insurance company will lay off 400 employees following the company's announcement this week that it's pulling out of the state's Medicaid program.

Iowa Workforce Development spokesman Cory Kelly confirmed to The Associated Press on Thursday that AmeriHealth Caritas will lay off about 400 employees beginning Dec. 31. The layoffs, which are permanent, will continue into 2018.

A spokesman for AmeriHealth Caritas did not immediately respond to AP's request for comment.

Kelly says Workforce Development will help workers impacted by the layoffs. The agency says the impacted workers "live across a broad section of Iowa."

AmeriHealth Caritas announced Tuesday it will leave the state's Medicaid program at the end of November. It's one of three national insurance companies that have overseen the program for poor and disabled people since 2016. The other two companies will remain in Iowa and will receive an additional $140 million as part of new contracts with the state.